19 November 2018
Day 12: Sunday, family visiting
Carole and I set off (not too early, our guys arrived with the minibus at about 10.15am) to do a load of family visiting today. We visited eight compounds in all, including 28 sponsored children - and a further 6 who were asking to go on to our webpage so that they might be lucky enough to be chosen for sponsorship themselves.
We cuddled a very new baby, took loads of photos, read stories, admired school work and discussed further education courses... a very happy and rewarding day, if rather exhausting!
It was Carole's last day here, so after our last visit we were dropped off at Calypso, a delightful bar and restaurant beside a lagoon at Cape Point. We had arranged to meet Linda there... we were running a bit later than expected, so she was there before us and had managed to get a very good table right beside the lagoon.
A good vantage point, as there are 15 or so crocodiles living there, plus a wide variety of birds - a really lovely place to spend an hour or so at the end of a busy day.
We cuddled a very new baby, took loads of photos, read stories, admired school work and discussed further education courses... a very happy and rewarding day, if rather exhausting!
It was Carole's last day here, so after our last visit we were dropped off at Calypso, a delightful bar and restaurant beside a lagoon at Cape Point. We had arranged to meet Linda there... we were running a bit later than expected, so she was there before us and had managed to get a very good table right beside the lagoon.
A good vantage point, as there are 15 or so crocodiles living there, plus a wide variety of birds - a really lovely place to spend an hour or so at the end of a busy day.
lagoon at Cape Point
In the photo, starting at the top, you can see: sky (grey today!), the north bank of The Gambia, the river estuary, a line of fishing boats beside and on the beach of the south bank, a swathe of reeds and the lagoon.
The water level is quite high at present, after the summer rain, so many of the crocodiles were lying with just their nostrils out of the water. However, we saw quite a number swimming quite lazily around....and at 5 o'clock, great excitement as one of the staff arrived with a bucket of fish for feeding time.
The water level is quite high at present, after the summer rain, so many of the crocodiles were lying with just their nostrils out of the water. However, we saw quite a number swimming quite lazily around....and at 5 o'clock, great excitement as one of the staff arrived with a bucket of fish for feeding time.
feeding the crocodiles
You can see Linda and Carole beside the guy with the bucket of fish...
Sadly, this was not a terribly good photo opportunity, as crocodiles snatch the fish and take them under the water to eat them! However, if you have faith and a good screen, you can just about see the one just right of centre of this photo with the fish in its mouth!!
Sadly, this was not a terribly good photo opportunity, as crocodiles snatch the fish and take them under the water to eat them! However, if you have faith and a good screen, you can just about see the one just right of centre of this photo with the fish in its mouth!!
crocodile with a fish
This was Carole's first visit to Calypso and she was delighted to have gone there - a good last day Gambian experience.
I will miss her when she returns to UK tomorrow...she has been a great travelling companion on many trips out and we have had a lot of laughs along the way. Thanks, Carole, do please come out with us again.
I will miss her when she returns to UK tomorrow...she has been a great travelling companion on many trips out and we have had a lot of laughs along the way. Thanks, Carole, do please come out with us again.
